Our Staff

Bettina (she/hers) has more than 15 years of professional leadership experience in the nonprofit, creative, and business sectors. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she comes to Boulder from San Luis Obispo, where she served as the CEO of Downtown SLO in San Luis Obispo, California, a place management organization advocating for small business, local economic vitality, public safety, and a cultural center. An alumna of Colorado College and a longtime arts advocate in Colorado Springs and across the state, she is committed to positioning cultural and arts activities as essential to healthy economic development. She uses design principles with an equity lens to empower and activate communities, and she is an advocate for diversity and inclusion as critical to business and organizational success. She is passionate about music, wordplay, and the outdoors. If you see her riding her electric tricycle, be sure to say hello.

Terri Takata-Smith (she/hers) is an experienced marketing and PR strategist with more than a decade on the Downtown Boulder team. She specializes in developing and implementing comprehensive marketing / promotional campaigns and communication plans. Terri is a 2020 International Downtown Association (IDA) Emerging Leader Fellow and received IDA’s Leadership in Place Management (LPM) certification in 2022. She currently serves on the board of directors for Downtown Colorado, Inc. and Visit Boulder.

Sue Hempstead (she/hers) has been a part of the team since 1998, starting out as the office assistant in the three person organization. A native of Boulder, she loves working in the city where she grew up. Sue earned a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach. Although her degree wasn’t in accounting, she has grown to love handling the finances for the Downtown Boulder organizations.

Anna Salim (she/hers) has overseen Downtown Boulder’s signature events for over a decade. She is responsible for the planning, execution and sponsorship sales for over a dozen community events. Anna also oversees the organization’s operations team and manages the public art and other special projects of Downtown Boulder Community Initiatives (501(c)(3)). She served on the City of Boulder's Arts Commission (2010 - 2015) and currently serves on the board for the PTO at Lafayette Elementary School.

Dave Adams (he/hims) is a longtime Boulder resident. With 35 years in the restaurant business, Dave joined Downtown Boulder in 2000. He currently works part-time assisting businesses overcome challenges operating in a downtown environment as the Business Liaison. In his free time, Dave enjoys skiing, mountain biking, swimming, and playing tennis or squash.

Kate (she/hers) is a proud Colorado native who radiates love for her family, friends and her community. It comes as no surprise that she was nicknamed 'Sunny Day' at birth. Specializing in rhetoric, communications and non-profit work, Kate is passionate about community outreach and creating meaningful connections with her peers. Though she graduated from CU’s rival university, Colorado State (Go Rams!), Kate has always had a special connection to the town of Boulder and is honored to highlight the beautiful stories, lifestyle and community downtown holds.

Kat (she/hers) grew up in Boulder and has always been passionate about making a difference in her local community. She considers herself to be a lifelong learner, nature lover, and night sky enthusiast. Kat is joining the team with a background in scientific program management, holding a B.A. in Astrophysics and an M.S.Ed. in Learning Sciences. She is excited to manage membership engagement and programming, and to support the growth of partnership initiatives.

The downtown district has been Melanie’s home base for entertainment, dining and shopping since coming to Boulder to attend CU. Melanie (she/hers) grew to know our remarkable business community through her tenure in Boulder’s hotel industry and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. She also had the opportunity to work for the CU-Boulder Alumni Association in a number of capacities and most recently worked to build and strengthen the triathlon team for D3 Multisport. Building community, connecting with businesses and creating value within DBP is what she is passionate about.